Online Music War: Samsung Vs Apple

Samsung has launched an attack on Apple's iTunes ecosystem with a new music streaming service offering unlimited access from $9.99 a month, but the music industry says it may not be enough to head off falling revenues.

While digital sales are growing - from $79m to $105m between 2009-10, according to ARIA - they are not growing fast enough to make up for declining physical sales, which dropped from $377m to $279m in the same period.

Samsung Music Hub and the recently launched Sony Music Unlimited are attempts to mimic the highly successful iTunes platform, which has helped spur on sales of all of Apple's devices. Samsung hopes that providing an easy, integrated way of obtaining content for its devices will benefit it in a similar way.

But John Watson, the prominent band manager for Silverchair, Missy Higgins, Cold Chisel and Pete Murray, amongst others, said it was "too early" to know whether there was a "genuine business model" for artists in any online subscription services.